


God, I Missed You

by eternalruins



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Ben Hargreeves is a Good Brother, Ben is also a good brother, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, He fucks up, Hurt Klaus Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves Deserves Better, Klaus Hargreeves Gets A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves Needs Help, Klaus Hargreeves-centric, Klaus centric, Klaus goes to the mausoleum, No season 2 here, Number Five is a good brother, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, but he's thoroughly done with Klaus's shit bless, he is not dealing with dave's dead, set after season 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:14:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26552683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternalruins/pseuds/eternalruins
Summary: “I want to know what the hell happened in there? Who was that? Why were you in the mausoleum in the first place?” Five fired off one after the after, gaze hard as he set his mug down with a thud. Klaus sighed, leaning his head back, feeling somewhat responsible to give Five an answer to what he walked into. What he walked into bloody actually, Klaus couldn’t forget that.“You can’t just swan in here looking like you took a day trip to the slaughterhouse and demand answers like that.” He said, somewhat smugly as he took another sip, knowing he had Five trapped there. Five wasn’t getting answers out of him unless he gave some up himself first, and he’d never do that. If he was being honest, Klaus still didn’t really know anything about his brother after he’d left. All those years completely blank. That definitely wasn’t fair, Five got to read about Klaus’s ever continuing list of fuck ups before he’d even done them. Perks of the future and all.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Klaus Hargreeves
Comments: 27
Kudos: 533





	God, I Missed You

“This is a stupid idea.” Ben said, for the sixth time in under three minutes. “This is quite possibly your worst idea yet, and considering I’ve seen you in the back of a police car in a tutu, that should really count to how  _ bad  _ this one is.” God he was such a Debbie Downer, never thought any of Klaus’s ideas were good. He wasn’t even in a tutu right now so that was a point to him.

“It’s a  _ fine  _ idea.” Klaus sing-songed as he walked across the back garden, Ben in tow behind him. He had his  _ ‘expasterated beyond words’ _ look on right now and Klaus really couldn’t be bothered looking at it as he followed the chillingly familiar path down to the bottom of the garden. The building loomed above him, silhouetted in the moonlight and maybe Klaus would  _ begrudgingly  _ agree that doing this at night wasn’t the smartest of moves on his part.

“It’s the  _ mausoleum,  _ Klaus.” Ben hissed at him like Klaus didn’t very damn well know that. He’d been dragged down here, night after night, for weeks, Father’s hand tight on his shoulder as he gave Klaus a long and detailed recount of why he was the family disappointment before throwing him inside. No amount of pleading worked so after a while Klaus stopped resisting. Just accepted his fate and the nightmare that was going to follow.

“I’m aware of that, yes thank you for the ghostly insight.” He snapped back, walking down the few steps that put the mausoleum underground,  _ even colder,  _ and went for the door. He wasn’t sure why he was here, not really, despite what he was saying to Ben.

He just hadn’t been able to stop  _ thinking  _ about it. Ever since he got back it fucking haunted him, stared at him through the back windows whilst he drank his morning coffee. It was exhausting, he was sick of feeling afraid of a place he hadn’t been locked in since he was  _ seventeen. _

Some traumas, sure Klaus could forgive himself for holding onto. Daddykins had fucked them up big times but Klaus had to let go of  _ something.  _ He’d just lost  _ Dave,  _ the weight in his chest was becoming too heavy for him to carry anymore. He wanted to stop feeling so emotionally rattled all the time. To finally have some semblance of control over his life. Ben didn’t get it, he was already dead. At this rate, Klaus didn’t know how he was gonna keep living without some form of release.

Drugs were out of the option, he wasn’t that desperate. Plus Ben’s disappointed face would be too hard to bear, especially considering how far he’s come, how long he’d actually managed to stay clean for. Though withdrawal was a  _ bitch. _

Another reason for his new found sobriety was the fact that Five still somehow managed to be utterly terrifying whilst looking like a teeny bopper. Klaus had feared for his life more than once whilst around his little-older brother. He couldn’t  _ help it,  _ Five literally had his baby fat back on his cheeks how was he  _ not  _ supposed to pinch them? Five almost broke two of his fingers but honestly, Klaus thought it was worth it.

Maybe Klaus was just sleep deprived and desperate by this point because even opening the large stone doors made him shiver. God he fucking hated this place. It just seemed to suck the warmth out of everything, Klaus used to shiver for hours after he was let out. No amount of blankets could chase away that bone deep chill.

The room wasn’t as large as he remembered it to be, but he supposed that made sense, he wasn’t as small as he used to be. 

He’d been such a sick kid, tiny and skinny for years, even smaller than  _ Five,  _ which is laughable looking back on considering he barely passes his chest now. But when they were younger Klaus had been even smaller, hiding himself in every nook and cranny he could trying to get away from the dead people following him to breakfast.

“You think I would’ve been taller if I had a better power?” Klaus asked, turning to Ben with an upturned, easy smile after the two had stared wordlessly into the dim room for several moments. Ben’s eyes only scrunched for a moment before his face dropped into his frequently used  _ ‘You’re an Idiot’  _ look, completely deadpanned as he replied.

“No. You’re gangly enough. And  _ stupid,  _ this is a  _ stupid idea Klaus-” _

Klaus soldiered forward, throwing out an indignant, “Gangly is all the range now, I’ll have you know.” Before stomping into the room.

Instantly, he realised his mistake, the steps echoing loudly off the walls. There was a breath, one, he counted, of silence, before eerie, low moans began to reverberate through the stone, the screams making Klaus cringe at the sheer  _ volume  _ of them. He’d realised when he was younger that if he was quiet, it took longer for the ghosts to recognise he was there. It wouldn’t last forever,  _ nothing ever did with them,  _ but it was something at least, before their bloody, mangled bodies would glide through the walls and then, then they were all over him, like disease on used needles they were  _ all over him. _

He could see them coming through the walls, yelling his name- how did they remember his name?- and Klaus shivered hard, steeling himself as his heartbeat picked up.

“Klaus, what are you trying to  _ prove? _ That you’re over this place? Because you’re  _ not _ \- you  _ know _ you aren’t.” If Ben was corporal he’d be shaking him right now, Klaus could tell. It wasn’t until Ben even ducked in front of his eyeline, breaking his gaze with a bloodied little girl on the other side of the room, did he get Klaus’s attention fully.

“But I  _ want  _ to be, Ben! I want this place to stop fucking haunting me all the time! I have had enough trauma for one lifetime, thank you very much!” Arguing was good, Ben always made him feel better. Reminded him he wasn’t completely alone amongst the corpses.

“Then go to  _ therapy, you insolent man child.”  _ Ben hissed at him, and whilst Klaus thought he had a rather expanded vocabulary for someone who rarely picks up a book, he wasn’t 100% sure what  _ insolent  _ meant, and there was a woman beginning to  _ scream her head off  _ in the corner that was distracting him more than Ben was.

“I can’t afford therapy!” He finally huffed, crossing his arms across his chest, half in defiance and half because his skin was already starting to break out in goosebumps and a crop top was definitely not the outfit for this particular occasion, Klaus could admit that much at least.

“I can do this, Ben.” He finally said quietly when Ben went into an angry silence with him. He sighed, eyes pinching as his whole body deflating in front of Klaus. He looked up at him and Klaus’s stomach soured at how upset he looked.

“But you don’t  _ have to.  _ This isn’t going to help anything.” He said, so defeated it made Klaus’s whole body tense.  _ Fuck,  _ Ben’s lectures never normally  _ worked.  _ Klaus was so used to tuning him out, forgoing all his warnings and just doing one reckless decision after another. Guilt was settling in now, because Klaus knew that if he had to go through this, so did Ben. No matter what, no matter how loud the ghosts got or how angry Klaus had made him that day, Ben never left.

Klaus sucked in his bottom lip, biting hard on it, staring down at his feet as he thought. None of the ghosts had come up to them yet, but they would soon enough, always did. Even if he did stay here, it wouldn’t be the same. Ben was right, always was annoyingly, nothing about this situation was sounding good to him anymore. Finally, Klaus breathed out heavily, chest caving as he stared up at his brother with a smile.

“Alright, Benny, let’s go.” He said, hoping Ben could hear his voice over the growing wailing in the room. Clearly he must have because his face broke out into Klaus’s  _ favourite  _ smile, the one that meant Klaus had actually picked the right choice and nodded to him.

“Okay, let’s go.” He turned to the door, motioning for Klaus to go first, like he was going to change his mind halfway through. It felt nice to turn his back to the ghosts, walking with long strides to get the door.

“You thinking waffles when we go in?” Klaus asked with a mischievous grin that Ben rolled his eyes to as Klaus grabbed the door handle.

“It’s like 3 in the-”

The  _ scream  _ came out of nowhere. 

Klaus’s whole body seized with fright before he threw himself back, yelling out. He tripped over his own feet, stumbled hard to the ground. The door slammed shut just as his back hit the stone floor. One of the ghosts, a woman with a half mangled face, had stuck her head through door just as he’d stepped through it, shrieking bloody murder at him. 

His heart was rabbiting so hard Klaus was worried it would explode out his chest and he gasped hard as adrenaline coursed through his system. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even remember how, the image replaying in his head, noting every ripped piece of flesh, the hole in her head where her right eye should be.

“Klaus! Klaus, it’s okay, she’s gone, just calm down.” Ben said, right in his ear, trying to break through the sound of his own heavy breathing, the wailing still going on in the background. Klaus shook his head vehemently, eyes screwed shut, refusing to believe what had just happened, what would become true when he opened his eyes.

The door had shut, he heard it, he fucking yanked it closed himself when she’d scared him. Klaus curled into a ball for a moment, suddenly very very aware that Ben had been right all along and that being in here was a  _ bad  _ idea.

“Klaus? Talk to me, say something.” Ben asked gently, the worry obvious in his voice when Klaus only pressed his face harder into the cold floor underneath him.

“This was a bad idea, Ben.” He finally conceded, voice mirthful despite being broken right down the middle. There was a pause before Ben sighed. Klaus assumed he was sitting down next to him, by his side as always.

“Terrible.” He agreed. The wailing was only getting louder.

  
  
  


***

  
  


Eventually Ben had managed to coax him out of his ball on the floor, encouraging him to sit next to the wall so he didn’t hurt his back. Honestly, Klaus didn’t really care much about his spine but lying like this was making him feel vulnerable, open to anything that was around him, so he finally moved to sit against a wall, knees pulled up to his chest.

He'd quickly lost track of time since that door had slammed shut. He was falling, deeper and deeper into his own head, barely hearing Ben as he spoke to him. If Klaus had to tune out the screaming, he had to tune Ben out too.

More and more just seemed to appear, Klaus had lost count by this point. The kids creeped him out the most, they were always so sad and lost. One time when Dad had locked him in here, one of the kids just  _ snapped.  _ A little girl, no older than six and she just went absolutely savage. Screaming and shouting at Klaus like he was at fault for all her problems, speech so broken and slurred he could barely understand her. Just left to feel the absolute rage and hatred that all the ghosts seemed to have for him.

Every minute was dragging by, having his head down and his eyes shut wasn’t helping and he’d lost track of his breathing several times now. Plus it didn’t help that one of the ghost was sitting  _ right fucking next to him,  _ howling in his ear like some deranged wolf.  _ Fuck,  _ had it always been this loud? It had been so many years since he’d actually been trapped in here, Klaus must’ve forgotten.

Well he was remembering now and one  _ particular  _ bitch seemed intent on reminding him.

He finally tipped his head back, leaning on the wall behind him as he turned to look at Ben, refusing to give the wailer  _ any  _ sort of attention, god his ears hurt. Ben was staring back at him, waiting for whatever was about to blurt from Klaus’s mouth next.

“Bit ironic, me dying out here.” He said nonchalantly, shrugging a little as he let out a slow breath. Ben jumped, reeling back like Klaus had slapped him, eyes wide.

“Don’t say that. You’re not gonna  _ die  _ out here.” Ben said firmly, like that suddenly made the situation so much less dire. Klaus let out a defeated giggle, rolling his head back to look at the ceiling. Oh Ben, ever hopeful. Klaus certainly wasn’t feeling it. Even if someone found him, how long till then? How long was he going to be trapped in here?

_ “Au contraire, mon frère préféré,”  _ Klaus hummed, holding up his finger, still resolutely ignoring the woman beside him no matter how loud she screamed. “It would seem I’m trapped out here for the night either way, no?” He asked, so accepting of his dire fate it was pathetic. None of his other siblings would react like this. They’re smarter, stronger, they would all find a way out. Klaus couldn’t even look past the shadows in the corner.

Ben didn’t argue with him on that, but Klaus did notice his eyes narrowing in on the woman next to him. Apparently she was even pissing Ben off.

“I’ll still be here?” He finally offered him, after a tense pause between them. Klaus’s lips ticked up into a smile and he nodded.

“Thanks Benny.” He said, indulging himself in Ben’s soft smile for a moment. The  _ banshee  _ beside him somehow managed to go even higher, practically operatic in his fucking ear and Klaus had had enough.

“Oh will you fuck off!” He turned to shout at her now, recognising it was the same woman from earlier with the  _ door, _ who’d trapped him in here  _ in the first place _ , his patience finally snapping as she continued to howl at him, trying to claw furiously at his arm, hand passing right through it.

She hissed angrily, eyes practically feral as she lunged for him. Klaus screamed when her nails actually raked against his skin, her hand slapping his head to the side and smacking it off the wall. His face  _ burned,  _ she’d cut the skin clean open and her nails were starting to dig into his sides as she climbed on top of him.

Klaus shouted out, hands coming up to defend himself, push her off,  _ anything,  _ and he now noticed that his hands were glowing blue, completely out of his control as the woman tried to rip him open from the outside in.

She was  _ shrieking _ , seemingly spurred on now that she could actually touch Klaus, do damage to him. She had her weight on top of him, but she was light, practically skin and bone and Klaus threw her off with a hard kick. The momentum threw them both forward, Klaus on top as he desperately fought to keep her nails out of his eye sockets. He was still screaming, he could feel the burn on his throat, not a word coherent, the glow from his hands highlighting her one remaining eye, a blown out black pit in her head that stared at him as she howled with a deep feral fury.

Klaus couldn’t pin her hands in time, had never been good with hand to hand combat to begin with, and she shoved his chest down, getting him beneath her, knee crushing his sternum. He couldn’t hold her off any longer, she was too strong, too wild and honestly, it was almost poetic that despite everything he’d been through, Klaus still managed to be the one to get himself killed.

She screamed again, showing off a mouth of chipped and rotten teeth, broken like the rest of her. She definitely didn’t feel light anymore, pressing down and crushing his chest, hand up and raised for his face when-

_ “Klaus!”  _ The shock of his name, a familiar voice that  _ wasn’t Ben,  _ shouting it made Klaus jump hard and suddenly the blue died from his hands, the woman sinking right through him, weightless, hand swiping uselessly through his skull.

Klaus’s head snapped round as he sat up, jumping away from her so she wasn't aiming for the kill, even if she couldn’t touch him anymore. His eyes found  _ Five,  _ little baby Five  _ thank god _ who- who was covered, head to toe, in blood.

It was smeared across his face in large streaks, garish to look at. Stained the front of his  _ ridiculous  _ school uniform, red rimmed around his collar and the neck of his vest. Klaus’s whole body went cold, eyes wide as he stared at him, heart picking up as he put it together.

_ Oh god. _

“Klaus what the hell! Who was that?” Five shouted, eyes wide in alarm but Klaus’s brain never registered a word. It was shutting down inside his head, screaming as it went,  _ “Deaddeaddeaddeaddead.”  _ His eyes swam as he stared at his brother,  _ so young gone for so long,  _ and he choked a little.

“No- no, Five no!” He cried, hands moving to his chest that felt like it was folding inwards, the screaming woman forgotten, completely ignored as Klaus’s heart broke inside his chest. His hands were fisting his hair, trying desperately to ground himself, but he was well aware he was starting to become hysterical. Not Five, no Klaus had just gotten him _back._ The apocalypse had been averted and Klaus had finally felt like Five was becoming their brother again and now he was _dead,_ no it wasn’t _fair._

“Klaus, what is going on- what happened?” Five asked loudly, surprise clear on his face as he walked closer. Klaus cried harder, seeing his brother so  _ small  _ and  _ hurt,  _ oh god there was so much blood, something awful must have happened and Five had  _ died.  _ All by himself.

“You’re  _ dead!  _ You’re dead, no Five, no-” He cried, vaguely aware of Ben shouting next to him, a confused look taking over Five’s face as he frowned hard, frozen in place a few steps in front of him.

First Ben, then Dave and now Five, the little girl upstairs must really fucking hate him for doing this. God, he must really be an awful person if he deserved this too. Another sob broke out Klaus’s chest, painful as he struggled for breath and Five finally moved, crouching down in front of him.

“Klaus, Klaus- look at me. I’m not dead.  _ Look at me- _ I’m right here, I’m not dead.” Five said, voice so  _ sure,  _ so firm it finally broke through the panic wrapped thick around his brain. Klaus stuttered, looking hard into Five’s eyes, trying to  _ think, _ before his hand slowly came up- so scared to hope- to gently press against Five’s chest, sobbing again when he felt the wool of the vest under his palm.

Klaus wrapped both arms around Five and yanked him into his arms, making him stumble a little on his feet. He was warm, solid,  _ alive.  _ Klaus could feel his body move up and down as he breathed, arms shifting a little to pat Klaus’s back, somewhat awkwardly.

He was okay. Well, he was covered in blood but he was  _ alive,  _ and right now that was all that mattered. The relief was making Klaus cry just as hard, still rattled as he gripped even tighter to his brother

“I’m fine, Klaus.” Five told him again. “None of this is uh- mines.” He said, like that was reassuring at all.

“You’re grounded.” Klaus gasped, finally finding his voice as his body relaxed, brain accepting that Five was real and okay and definitely not dead. “You hear me,  _ grounded. _ No going out after dark for you.” He said and Five huffed a laugh over his shoulder.

“If I wasn’t out I wouldn’t have heard you in here.” Five pulled back at that, instead taking one of Klaus’s hands and squeezing it tight to reassure him. His palm was still wet with blood but Klaus didn’t care, it was enough. “What the hell are you doing out here? Who was that?” Five’s eyes flickered to his cheek, where she’d sliced him with her nails. His gaze was hard as he tried to figure it out, brain working quickly, too quickly for Klaus’s liking.

He didn’t need Five to figure this out. He needed him to forget about it and let Klaus go to his room and fall face first into his bed and not leave for a very long time.

The woman from before,  _ that same bitch- why wouldn’t she leave him alone god he hadn’t done anything,  _ was wailing beside him and Klaus flinched hard, praying that Five was distracting him enough so his powers didn’t do anything else out of his control. Five’s eyebrows shot up at his reaction and he looked over to the space where she was continuing to shriek in Klaus’s ear.

“Hold on.” Five said, gripping tightly to Klaus’s hands before Five's turned blue as he jumped the two of them. They appeared in the kitchen, still on the floor, the light glowing above their heads from Klaus leaving it on earlier at the start of his fucking  _ adventure. _

The familiar sight of the wooden cabinets and dark flooring did wonders to soothe his racing heart, whole body going limp with a deep exhale. Five caught him with a grunt, muttering another quick, “Hold on.” Before moving and quickly depositing him in one of the chairs at the kitchen table. Klaus was glad he never jumped them again, it always made it his head hurt. No wonder Five was so cranky all the time.

Five jumped to the coffee machine, switching it on, still remaining in Klaus’s view as he pulled out two mugs. Ben had materialised at the other end of the table, giving Klaus a small smile and a wave. Klaus couldn’t quite match the smile but he did nod his head to him.

He felt absolutely exhausted, body wrung from so many adrenaline crashes, just cusping on breaking point. He jumped a little when Five set his mug down in front of him, quickly avoiding his brother’s sharp gaze to stare down at the table.

Five moved back to stand at the counter, holding his own mug tight to his chest as he continued to watch Klaus with that same, analysing look he’d mastered when they were still kids. Like he was picking him apart under a microscope inside his head.

Klaus tried not to stiffen at the lack of contact, body still very cold as he moved to fidget with the mug handle instead. A blink later and Five was in the chair next to him, legs extended outwards so his feet rested on top of Klaus’s outstretched shins. The contact instantly quietened his spiraling mind and Klaus lent forward to pull the sugar towards him, more at ease at least, if that was anything.

Five’s nose wrinkled a little as Klaus dumped four large spoonfuls into his drink but he didn’t comment, still quiet, still thinking.

It was starting to make Klaus’s skin itch.

“What do you want, Five? Cause I wanna go to bed.” Klaus asked, taking a gulp of his coffee, ignoring the taste but calming as the heat burned away the cold in his chest.

“I want to know what the hell happened in there? Who was that? Why were you in the mausoleum in the first place?” Five fired off one after the after, gaze hard as he set his mug down with a thud. Klaus sighed, leaning his head back, feeling somewhat responsible to give Five an answer to what he walked into. What he walked into  _ bloody  _ actually, Klaus couldn’t forget that.

“You can’t just swan in here looking like you took a day trip to the slaughterhouse and demand answers like that.” He said, somewhat smugly as he took another sip, knowing he had Five trapped there. Five wasn’t getting answers out of him unless he gave some up himself first, and he’d  _ never  _ do that. If he was being honest, Klaus still didn’t really know anything about his brother after he’d left. All those years completely blank. That definitely wasn’t fair, Five got to read about Klaus’s ever continuing list of fuck ups before he’d even  _ done them.  _ Perks of the future and all.

Five huffed, sitting back, jaw clenching as he thought his way out of this one. Klaus let him take his time, used to the coffee taste now so he was enjoying it, content to focus on counting the tiles on the wall behind Five’s head.

“Alright, I’ll trade you. A question for a question.” Five said and that definitely caught Klaus’s attention, Five never told him  _ anything.  _ His little-older brother seemed to be offering out an olive branch of some sort and it was hard for Klaus to refuse.

“Deal.” He nodded, setting his empty mug and sitting back in his seat. Five really needed to clean the blood off his face but Klaus didn’t bring it up in case he moved again.

Five nodded, folding his arms as he pinned Klaus with another hard look. Another thing his brother had mastered young, Klaus had never been able to lie to him. And as soon as Five  _ knew  _ he was being lied to, he became even scarier.

“Who was the woman that hurt you?” Five asked, finally seeming to choose a question. Klaus huffed, shrugging.

“Hell if I know, just some random ghost who really fucking wanted to turn me into Swiss cheese.” He said, looking down at his scratched arms. Five frowned, apparently not expecting that for his answer. He still pouted a little when he was deep in thought, Klaus used to tease him about it when they were younger.

He was quick to ask his question next.

“Who’s blood is that?” Pointing to Five’s chest. It was really starting to set him on edge, looking at it, even if it didn’t actually belong to his brother, it still wasn’t  _ nice  _ to see.

Five looked down at himself in mild surprise, only now seeming to notice the absolute state he was in. “Members of the Commission that had uh- old grudges.” He said, picking at the front of his vest with his thumb and forefinger.

That made sense, Klaus supposed. It didn’t surprise him that someone would actively want Five dead. It wouldn’t surprise Klaus if someone wanted any of his brothers dead though, so maybe it wasn’t all Five’s fault.

“Have the ghosts ever attacked you before?” Five asked him, sounding genuinely curious. That disarmed Klaus a little, he’d almost expected Five to be a little more, scathing? Angry at him? People were usually angry with him after he fucked up. Just something that wasn’t this. Five almost looked  _ concerned,  _ eyebrows furrowed, chin sticking out as he thought about everything Klaus has said.

Klaus shook his head as an answer, ignoring the way his hands trembled harder as he remembered. She was so cold, so violent. An angry, feral popsicle trying to  _ kill  _ him and he couldn’t do anything to defend himself. If it wasn’t for Five he’d just be a pile of ribbons by now, doomed to be stuck with Ben’s ugly mug in the afterlife forever. Klaus was pretty desensitised to gore by now, he’d been seeing people’s mangled dead bodies for as long as he could remember. But watching the woman's skin actually rip and tear open as she stretched her face open, screaming at him, hands going for the kill-

It made Klaus shudder and he knew Five would’ve clock it instantly,  _ stupid. _

“No, they’ve never been able to touch me. It’s probably since I’m sober now, I guess. They’ve never had a chance to before.” Yeah, and it should’ve stayed that way. One more ghost lays a finger on him and Klaus is going straight back to his dealer, any of Ben or Five’s looks be damned.

“Did you miss me when you were gone?” There was a beat of silence between them in the dim kitchen, where Klaus realised that  _ he _ just said that- _ Jesus Christ his big mouth, what was wrong with him?  _ His eyes quickly fled to look at Ben instead, who’s eyes were wide, jaw slack.

“Dude.” He groaned, putting his head in his hands and Klaus continued to sink down lower and lower in his seat, now refusing to look at either of his brothers. The room was becoming eerily quiet, and if it wasn’t for the press of Five’s feet against his legs, Klaus would’ve thought his brother had jumped out of the room. He kind of wished he would. Then Klaus wouldn’t have to face this  _ mortifiying situation.  _ God his brain was not awake enough for this-  _ stupid, stupid, stupid- _

“Of course I missed you.” Five’s small voice broke the never ending silence and Klaus’s eyes flew to Five’s face on their own accord, startling a little at his words. His brother was huddled into his chair, shoulders up to his ears, fiddling with the seam of his blazer, staring down hard at it. God he really did look small. No older than the day he’d stormed out all those years ago.

But he  _ wasn’t  _ the same kid, no matter how much Klaus wished he was. He was older, so much older and had lived so many nightmares that Klaus had no idea about. It made his heart ache hard in his chest for his brother, made him want to wrap Five up in a hug. 

_ Of course I missed you.  _

Klaus sat up properly, dislodging Five’s legs. He barely saw his brother’s surprised look before he grabbed him round the shoulders and pulled him into his chest. Five made a small, startled noise but again didn’t fight, just let Klaus hug him again for the second time that night.

“Why did you think I was dead?” Five asked, a little stuttered, definitely more than a little emotional, he could feel Five’s small hands holding tightly onto his crop top. Klaus ignored the blood easily as he ran his hands over Five’s sharp shoulder blades, trying to reassure him as he heard the tremor in his voice.

Klaus was half way out of his seat, mostly crouched on the floor so he was close enough but he didn’t care, it felt good to feel someone  _ warm  _ in his arms _.  _ Who wasn’t trying to hurt him, wasn’t that bitch from the mausoleum, Five just held on tight to him, desperate to not let go.

“Just- there was a lot of ghosts. Everywhere. And you’re all  _ bloody,  _ I just- panicked. Wasn’t thinking straight.” Klaus tried to clamber together an explanation for him, wasn’t even sure if it made sense. “Sorry about that.” He added, just for good measure, just in case.

Five shook his head harder, face smushed into the front of Klaus’s chest. “No, it’s okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you like that.” He said and Klaus almost broke all over again. Five was apologising to  _ him.  _ Walked in on Klaus having one of the biggest meltdowns he’s ever had and he was saying sorry to him.

“But you’re alright. You’re okay, right?” Klaus asked softly. Five took a deep breath, Klaus could feel his whole body expand when he did, Five nodded, pulling away.

His eyes were rimmed red, some of the blood cleaned away from under his cheeks from unspilled tears. But he had a small, reserved smile on his face, one Klaus rarely even saw, never mind directed at him. "Yeah, I'm fine now."

Klaus leant back to sit on his heels, his own smile wider than Five’s, of course.

His brain was finally calm, soothed from being trapped, soothed from being attacked, thinking Five was  _ dead-  _ He was okay now. He sat down heavily on the floor, crossing his legs but not moving far away. Five seemed better now too, eyes had lost that wild, emotional look so that was a win in Klaus’s books. Sometimes all you need is a hug to pull it together.

“Why were you in the mausoleum in the first place?” Five asked softly, though his voice had lost the tremble from before. Klaus had expected the question, had actually expected it from him a lot earlier. God, he didn’t want to think about that place ever again after tonight. Nope, that whole entire section of his life was getting firmly repressed and Klaus for one, was quite looking forward to it.

He exhaled hard, but he knew Five wouldn’t let it go. It wouldn't be very fair for Klaus to just dip now. He very much wanted to but he could never be that shitty of a brother. Not when Five’s face  _ looked like that.  _

Klaus scrubbed his fingers over his face, trying dimly to piece together a story before Ben’s voice made his head turn. Ben’s face was open, earnest when he looked at Klaus. “ _ Tell him.  _ He’s here and he’s  _ listening.”  _ Ben told him, voice practically pleading as Klaus sucked in his bottom lip to chew on. It had been thirteen years. And Dad was dead, that always made everything easier.

“It was part of my training.” He finally said, voice so small Five lent closer to hear. Klaus was still looking away from him, staring at Ben instead, who was encouraging him with a soft smile “Dad used to lock me in there, part of some fucked up plan so I’d stop being afraid of the ghosts.” Klaus chuckled hollowly, chest turning light at the confession, eyes finally returning to Five’s face, who was an equal mix of shocked and horrified. “Didn’t work, obviously. Just made it worse.”

There was barely a pause before Five asked a question this time. “How old were you?” His voice was hard, probably anger. Klaus knew it wasn’t directed at him, the old man really had fucked them up good time. Klaus just never told his siblings his particular torture. Didn’t see the point, it wouldn’t change anything. He hadn’t learned control, he found drugs instead. The easy option was there and he grabbed it with both hands, didn’t care how messy he became as long as it  _ drowned out the noise.  _ He’d kept it to himself, no one but Ben knew. And Klaus hadn’t even told him, he’d died when they were 15. For two years he’d faithfully followed Klaus down to the mausoleum, glaring hatefully at Reginald the entire way. Klaus hadn’t told another soul after that.

Not until now at least. May as well get it all out and ugly on the table.

“Eight when it started.” Klaus finally answered, returning to gnaw on his bottom lip. Five startled a little at his answer and Klaus fought to keep the rueful smile off his lips. Five looked upset now, lent right forward in his seat as he digested every word Klaus told him.

“It was going on whilst I was here? For  _ five years,  _ and you didn’t tell me?” Five asked incredulously, voice offended but  _ angry, always so angry.  _ Usually it was directed at Klaus though, not on his behalf and it was throwing him off a little. Klaus let out a giggle.

“Oh please, what were you gonna do? You were even smaller back then than you are now, what was your plan? Bite Dad’s kneecaps?” Klaus laughed. Hell, Five was angry back then too, he might just have done it. His brother huffed, sitting back in his chair with a pout, looking very much like the petulant child he used to be, but his feet were still digging into either of Klaus’s knees. Reminding him he was still there, still okay.

Even if he did seem a little more than furious right now.

“I’d have done something.” Five said resolutely. “I’d have found a way, you know I would have, why didn’t you tell me? Or Diego or Ben? When did he stop putting you in there?”

Klaus scoffed, matching Five’s tone when he spoke again. “What makes you think he stopped?”

He did feel a little guilty when Five’s face flashed stricken, eyes wide and  _ horrified,  _ before he caught himself, going for neutral instead. Five breathed out hard, probably working out and putting things together in his mind that Klaus was betting he hadn’t even thought about.

“I’m sorry.” Five finally said, but his voice was brittle and he was still  _ rigid  _ with anger. His body was all sharp lines and hard angles and Klaus knew it was Regiald’s fault and yeah, he deserved the anger, but he was just so  _ sick  _ of it. All the baggage and the exhaustion. He’d let go of it all with Dave, had started living a brand new life. And now  _ that  _ was gone and the life he’d let go of was slapping him in the face all over again.

“It wasn’t your fault.” Klaus said, and he meant it, he really did.

Five let out a strangled little gasp, suddenly looking and sounding  _ so much younger _ than his age. He looked emotional, eyes bright with sincerity when he said, “No, I’m sorry you had to  _ go through that.”  _

Five collapsed back in his seat, head falling into his hands, letting out a deep sigh that Klaus felt reverberate through his whole body. Klaus’s eyes flitted to Ben for the first time in awhile, attention caught when Ben moved forward. His other brother looked just as emotional-  _ God since when did Klaus get everyone in their feelings so much?-  _ lent over in his seat towards Five, heart breaking in his chest just as much as Klaus’s was. It was way too late for this now. Way too early in fact, Klaus was sure the sun was coming up through the windows.

After a moment of deliberation, Klaus gently placed his hand on Five’s leg, squeezing his kneecap. It was cathartic, definitely painful, rehashing old memories he’d really rather forget.

But it brought him closer to his brother, one he never thought he’d even get to see again. Five was making him feel better, even if it was just by listening to him. Just  _ believing  _ him, was all Klaus needed.

Five believed him.

Klaus didn’t have any more words left, his brain was absolutely rung dry inside his head. But he felt  _ safe,  _ maybe even loved, despite Five never admitting it out loud.

“I’m proud of you, Klaus.” Ben said, voice so warm and appreciative it made Klaus smile just a little. He definitely felt loved now.

“Thank you.” The words tumbled out of Klaus’s mouth, must’ve been rattling around inside his head and fallen out. But they sounded right, and seem to fit in properly along with the silence.

Ben agreed too, nodded and hummed along with Klaus’s words like Five could hear him. It was an endearing quality that he still had. Still kept it up despite how much Klaus ignored his attempts.

Five finally showed his face again, hands falling to his lap. Gaze soft at least, Klaus wasn’t under any microscopes in Five’s mind right now.

“Go see Mom about your face. It might need stitches." Five said gruffly, nodding to the gash from earlier on his cheek. Klaus blinked, mind thrown for a moment on what Five was talking about before he remembered with a jerk.  _ Oh yeah. _

Klaus nodded, fingers twitching to touch it, instantly regretting it when he brushed against the frayed skin. The blood was dry though on his fingers so Klaus was hoping he could get away without stitches.

He got up from the floor with a groan, legs straining at the effort. Klaus couldn’t wait to get into bed after this. He’d gotten to the door before Five spoke again.

“Oh and Klaus?” He said, looking up from his coffee cup he’d picked back up from the table and catching his attention again. “We’re destroying the mausoleum. Tomorrow.”

Klaus smiled, touched at the gesture and nodded. “I’ll watch that."

**Author's Note:**

> This kind of got away from me? And i ended up 6,000 words long? I have another idea for Five and Klaus but it would just be platonic as well. Lemme know if you enjoyed.


End file.
